General Motors Corp (GM.N) would give
new union members 401(k)-style retirement plans instead of
traditional pensions for the first time under a proposed United
Auto Workers contract, Bloomberg News said on its Web site,
citing people with knowledge of the talks.

GM also has proposed freezing cost-of-living raises to help
pay for a union-run fund that would take responsibility for
retiree health care, the report said.

After breaking off talks at around 9 p.m on Tuesday, GM and
UAW negotiators were prepared to return to the bargaining table
on Wednesday morning, a person familiar with the talks said.

The move from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan would certainly be consistent with the larger movement in this country to consumer-driven benefit plans. It is also interesting that the company is proposing to tie wage concessions to the proposed VEBA plan.